The books of Stephen King form their own universe, with characters appearing or being referenced in different stories and big events being mentioned in other books, and a wild theory suggests that there’s a deep connection between IT and The Shining, and the evil entity in the former is the one behind the events in the latter. Stephen King has rightfully earned the title of the King of Horror with his many novels and short stories from the horror genre, and through them, he has introduced generations of readers to a variety of truly frightening creatures – human, animal, and supernatural.

Stephen King’s debut as a horror author arrived in 1974 with the publishing of Carrie, and while it was a success, the novel that established King as a preeminent author in the horror genre was The Shining. Published in 1977, The Shining introduced readers to Jack Torrance, a struggling writer and recovering alcoholic who takes a position as the off-season caretaker of the Overlook Hotel in the Colorado Rockies and takes his wife, Wendy, and their son, Danny, with him. The Torrances hope to rebuild their relationship and reconnect while at the hotel, while Jack also hopes to find the motivation he needs to work on a play, but when a snowstorm leaves them cut off from the outside world, and along with Danny’s psychic abilities, the supernatural forces inhabiting the hotel awaken and begin to mess with Jack’s sanity.

The Shining was followed by many now-classic novels by King, and one of the most popular and beloved ones is IT, published in 1986. IT follows a group of kids, self-named “The Losers Club”, who come across an evil entity living in the sewers. This creature feeds off the fear of its victims thanks to its ability to take any shape it desires, but its preferred one is that of Pennywise, the Dancing Clown. IT/Pennywise has been mentioned in other King stories, and as his works are part of one big (and sometimes complex) universe, there are many theories about how some stories and characters are connected, and one suggests that IT is behind the events of The Shining.

Stephen King’s “Shine” Explained

The Stephen King universe has its own mythology, and one of its most famous and intriguing concepts is the “shine”. Introduced in the novel The Shining, the “shine” is a psychic ability that grants those who possess it the ability to read minds, communicate with other “shining” users through the mind, and have visions of events that have already happened and those that will happen in the future. The “shine”, then, is a combination of telepathy and clairvoyance, and depending on how powerful it is in each user, they can develop other abilities (like Abra in Doctor Sleep, who can astral project). In Stephen King’s universe, many people have a bit of the “shine” and others have the full package, so the way it presents itself and how powerful each user is depends on how much of the “shine” they have.

IT’s Origins & Powers Explained

The characters and stories of Stephen King are part of the Macroverse, and this is the home of two powerful entities: Maturin and IT. Maturin is a turtle of massive size who existed long before the creation of the mainstream universe in King’s novels and is one of the twelve Guardians of the Beams that hold up the Dark Tower. Maturin is kind, compassionate, wise, and benevolent, but he spends a lot of his time sleeping inside of his shell, and only comes out when he has a stomachache, and one of those occasions resulted in Maturin vomiting out the mainstream universe. IT is a shape-shifting creature that originated in a void outside the regions of the Macroverse. IT’s origins are still a mystery as is its true form, though Bill Denbrough caught a glimpse of it through the Ritual of Chüd and described it as a mass of swirling, destructive orange lights, known as the “deadlights”. These can cause insanity or even death on any living being who sees them directly, and the closest to its true form that the human mind can comprehend is a giant spider. Given their opposing views and personalities, the Turtle and IT are natural enemies, and Maturin is the only being that IT truly fears.

Being a cosmic entity, IT has various powers aside from shapeshifting, which it uses to terrorize and torture its victims and thus feed off their fear. IT’s powers are telepathy (as in detecting memories and emotions), mind control, possession, creation of illusions, invisibility (it can appear to its target and be invisible to the rest), telekinesis, can steal people’s souls, teleportation (inside Derry), chlorokinesis, and weather control, along with superhuman strength and speed. Of course, not even all that cosmic power can make a creature like IT completely invulnerable, and its weaknesses are its narcissism (IT often underestimates humans and lets them escape), its victims presenting great courage and heart, belief (for example, when the Losers believed Eddie’s inhaler had battery acid), and it must obey the laws of its form, meaning that it will have the same vulnerabilities of the form its takes, which is why the Losers used silver bullets to fight IT in its werewolf form. Of course, IT’s main power is shapeshifting, and this has led to a wild theory that connects IT and The Shining through the “shine” and IT’s abilities.

Related:Why Stephen King’s It Prequel Series Is A Bad Idea

Theory: IT Drove The Shining’s Jack Torrance Mad

A very elaborate theory by The Film Theorists suggests that IT was the force behind the events of The Shining and Jack Torrance’s downward spiral. The author compares how “the evil works” in The Shining and IT and presents the similarities between Jack being helped by Delbert Grady throughout the events of The Shining and an adult Henry Bowers being visited by the ghost of his friend Belch, who was killed years ago by IT. In both cases, their ghostly visions offer to get them out of their imprisonment (Jack in the pantry, Henry in a mental institution) in exchange for committing murder: that of Wendy and Danny, and the Losers. The author explains that these aren’t just visions as they actually provide them with a physical murder weapon and can interact with the physical world, just like IT does when taking the shape it desires.

As for why IT would use someone else – Jack and Henry – to kill others when it doesn’t really have a problem in killing many, many people, the author explains that IT doesn’t directly go after people who “shine” because it knows how dangerous and powerful they can be. By using Jack and Henry to get rid of Danny and the Losers, IT would be getting rid of the threat that are people who “shine”, though his manipulation of Jack and Henry ended up driving these two insane, and ultimately, they couldn’t fulfill its plans.

Did The Losers Club Have The “Shine”?

This theory not only suggests that IT was behind the evil forces at the Overlook Hotel that drove Jack Torrance mad, but it also suggests that the Losers have the “shine”, which could explain some of IT’s mysteries. First off, The Shining and IT are connected through Dick Hallorann, the Overlook’s chef and one of the survivors of the Black Spot, a nightclub burned down by IT. Hallorann used his “shine” to find survivors and rescue them, among those Will Hanlon, Mike’s father. The “shine”, then, exists in the world of IT, and the author of the theory presents some possible evidence of the Losers having the “shine”: Bill can communicate with IT and the Turtle through the Ritual of Chüd, and it’s all telepathic, and he later senses Mike is in danger at the hospital and encourages the rest to “send power” to Mike. During the Losers’ final battle with IT, Ben could hear IT’s thoughts, Bev could feel the power they sent to Mike, and Richie communicated telepathically with Bill during the ritual. If the Losers indeed had the “shine”, and along with the above theory about IT and “shine” users, it would explain why Pennywise couldn’t kill the Losers easily.

The Problems With IT Being Behind The Events of The Shining

While it makes sense that the Losers could have the “shine” and there are similarities in how IT manipulated Henry Bowers and how Jack was driven to insanity by the evil forces of the Overlook Hotel, the biggest problem with this theory is the time setting of IT and The Shining thanks to IT’s hibernation period. IT is divided into two parts: 1957-1958, covering the journey of the Losers against IT when they were kids, and 1984-1985 when the adult Losers returned to Derry to finally defeat IT. The reason for this time jump is that IT goes into hibernation for 27 years and wakes up to kill and eat, with each awakening marked by a violent act. The Shining takes place in the 1970s, so IT was in hibernation then. However, the author suggests IT’s hibernation might have actually been it traveling to other cities to continue feeding, but that seems unlikely. Unless Stephen King confirms or denies that IT could have been behind Jack Torrance’s actions in The Shining, it’s up to readers and viewers to decide if this theory could be possible or if it’s just a fun idea.